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Texas Lawmakers, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Comission, and The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility Team Up to Stop Drunk Driving

Feb

22

2005

Austin, TX — Representative Todd Smith (R-District 92);
Representative Rob Eissler (R-District 15); Alan Steen, Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission (TABC) Administrator; and Shannon Adams, field
director with The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, a national not-for-profit
organization funded by distillers dedicated to fighting drunk driving
and underage drinking, arrived at the Texas State Capitol today to
showcase a national public education and awareness campaign. The
demonstration concludes a week-long South Texas University tour
co-sponsored by the TABC. The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility’s national bilingual
effort is a response to research demonstrating that seven out of ten
adults report that they do not know the blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) limit for driving in their own state.

“Knowing the law and knowing how alcohol affects your individual
blood alcohol concentration are key factors to making a good decision
about beverage alcohol,” said Representative Smith. “The Century
Council’s Blood Alcohol Education campaign is a great resource for
informing Texan adults about both of these issues.”

At the heart of the educational campaign is the Blood Alcohol Educator (BAE) CD-ROM, a
credit card sized CD-ROM in both Spanish and English that educates the
user on how alcohol influences their BAC level. Highlighting the
campaign is a colorful van dubbed the Blood Alcohol Educator (BAE) that
is traveling the country to distribute the CD-ROMs. In six years’ time,
the project has evolved into a successful national tour. To date, the
BAE Van has traveled to 45 states and the District of Columbia — a
total of over 250,000 miles.

“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there
were 1,709 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in Texas in 2003, a
decrease of nearly 6 percent. Sadly, 342 of those fatalities were among
youth under 21. These numbers are far too high,” said Alan Steen, TABC
Administrator. “I am encouraged that The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility has made it a
priority to bring this program to Texas. We must continue to work
together to reduce the number of lives lost.”

“There were far too many lives lost in Texas last year due to drunk
driving. Awareness programs like the Blood Alcohol Educator are
important because they remind Texans about the dangerous consequences
of drunk driving,” said Representative Smith.

“Underage drinking combined with driving is an American tragedy,” said Eissler.

“Driving across the country in the BAE van provides us with a personal
approach to educating Americans about the dangers of drunk driving, and
for those individuals under the age of 21, the only decision is not to
drink,” said Shannon Adams of The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility.

The user-friendly vehicle converts into an interactive cyber-café that
includes three computer terminals which allow visitors to use the BAE
CD-ROM to estimate their BAC level based on gender, weight and the type
and number of drinks consumed at the BAE CD-ROM’s virtual bar. In
addition to reflecting a person’s BAC level, the CD-ROM includes a
virtual clock that demonstrates how long it will take for an
individual’s BAC level to return to .00.

Adams added, “We hope this grassroots educational and awareness
campaign will maximize its impact and reduce the distinct awareness gap
among Americans of what BAC laws are and how the law affects
individuals differently. Additionally, we at The Foundation encourage
everyone to log onto our website — www.b4udrink.org — to download the
BAE CD-ROM.”

Launched in 1991, The Century
Council is funded by America's leading distillers. The Foundation's
mission is to promote responsible decision-making regarding beverage
alcohol and discourage all forms of irresponsible consumption through
education, communications, research, law enforcement and other
programs. For more information on the Foundation, log onto
www.responsibility.org.